Apparatus and method for generating and displaying cartoon content

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for generating cartoon content includes a cut input controller configured to control receiving of a signal of adding a cut included in the cartoon content and having a layer; an effect input controller configured to control receiving of a type of an effect applied to the layer and property information based on the type of the effect; and a cut generator configured to generate a final cut such that the layer moves at a moving speed or by a moving distance corresponding to the type of the effect and a user event received from a user, wherein the cut generator determines a reaction speed of the layer based on the type of the effect and the property information of the effect, calculates a moving distance or a moving speed corresponding to the reaction speed, and generates the final cut to move by the moving distance or at the moving speed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2015-0008259, filed on Jan. 16, 2015, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in itsentirety by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

One or more exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to anapparatus, method, and computer program for generating cartoon contentand a method of displaying the cartoon content, and more particularly,to an apparatus, method, and computer program for generating cartooncontent including various effects such as movement, perspective effect,time difference, etc. and a method of displaying the cartoon content bymaking effects of the cartoon content correspond to input user events.

2. Description of the Related Art

A cartoon is a picture intended to satirize or criticize life or societyby exaggerating or omitting the features of an object and using humor,caricature, social commentary, etc. Cartoons may be classified intovarious types, e.g., a romance cartoon, a martial arts cartoon, anaction cartoon, a comic cartoon, a sports cartoon, a science fiction(SF) cartoon, etc., according to the contents thereof. A cartoon mayshow complex human attitudes using a visual system of pictures (images)and characters (text) and is thus more effective to attract theattention of readers than a general book containing only characters.

Recently, with advancements in communication technology, cartoons havebeen provided not only through comic books but also via the Internet orthe like.

SUMMARY

One or more exemplary embodiments provide an apparatus, method, andcomputer program for generating cartoon content as intended by a cartooncontent creator.

One or more exemplary embodiments provide an apparatus, method, andcomputer program for generating cartoon content, thereby generating acartoon content cut that expresses an effect selected by a cartooncontent creator, based on the type of the effect and the propertyinformation of the effect.

One or more exemplary embodiments provide an apparatus for displayingcartoon content, thereby displaying various effects corresponding touser events.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may belearned by practice of the presented embodiments.

According to one or more exemplary embodiments, an apparatus forgenerating cartoon content includes a cut input controller configured tocontrol receiving of a signal of adding a cut included in the cartooncontent and including a layer; an effect input controller configured tocontrol receiving of a type of an effect applied to the layer andproperty information based on the type of the effect; and a cutgenerator configured to generate a final cut such that the layer movesat a moving speed or by a moving distance corresponding to the type ofthe effect and a user event received from a user, wherein the cutgenerator determines a reaction speed of the layer based on the type ofthe effect and the property information of the effect, calculates amoving distance or a moving speed corresponding to the reaction speed,and generates the final cut to move by the moving distance or at themoving speed.

The cut generator may calculate a first moving speed corresponding tothe user event, calculate a final moving speed by multiplying a speedset of a first region by the first moving speed, and generate the finalcut to move at the final moving speed.

The property information of the effect may include at least one ofcontent of the effect, importance, a number of effects, initiallocations of respective effects, final locations of respective effects,duration time of respective effects, and a number of words included intext.

According to one or more exemplary embodiments, a method of generatingcartoon content includes inputting a signal of adding a cut includingone or more layers, wherein a cut input controller performs thereceiving; inputting a type of an effect applied to the one or morelayers and property information based on the type of the effect, whereinan effect input controller performs the inputting; and generating afinal cut such that the one or more layers display the effect, wherein acut generator performs the generating, wherein the generating of thefinal cut includes: determining a reaction speed of the layer based onthe type of the effect and the property information of the effect,calculating a moving distance or a moving speed corresponding to thereaction speed, and generating the final cut to move by the movingdistance or at the moving speed.

According to one or more exemplary embodiments, a apparatus forgenerating cartoon content includes a display unit configured to displaya first region of the cartoon content; an input unit configured toreceive a user event from a user; an event processor configured tocalculate a first speed corresponding to the user event; and a displaycontroller configured to calculate a second speed corresponding to aneffect of a first cut located in at least a part of the first region,calculate a third speed corresponding to an effect of a second cutlocated in at least a part of the first region, and control moving ofthe cartoon content at the second speed while the first cut is displayedon a predetermined region of a screen, moving of the cartoon content atthe third speed while the second cut is displayed on the predeterminedregion, and displaying of the cartoon content, wherein the second speedand the third speed are different from each other.

The second speed and the third speed may be determined according to atleast one of a reading speed of the cartoon content and a reading speedof the user.

According to one or more exemplary embodiments, there are provided othermethods and systems for accomplishing the inventive concept, and anon-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recordedthereon a computer program for performing the other methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects of the present invention will become apparentand more readily appreciated from the following description of theembodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a cartoon content providing system according toone exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a cartoon content generation apparatusaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a controller of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows an example of a user interface of a cartoon contentgeneration apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a cartoon content display apparatusaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a controller of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a cartoon content display method according toone exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a cartoon content display method according toanother exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 9 shows an example of a user interface to which a perspectiveeffect of the cartoon content generation apparatus of FIG. 4 is applied;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a cartoon content generation method accordingto yet another exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 11 shows an example of a plurality of layers including aperspective effect;

FIG. 12 shows an example of a user interface to which a time differenceeffect of the cartoon content generation apparatus of FIG. 4 is applied;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a cartoon content display method according toan exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 14A through 14C show examples of a user interface that displays acartoon cut including layers to which a time difference effect isapplied;

FIG. 15 shows an example of a user interface that displays cartooncontent;

FIGS. 16A and 16B show another example of a user interface that displayscartoon content;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of a cartoon content display method according tofurther exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 18A and 18B show an example of an additional layer displayed incorrespondence with a user event in a reverse direction;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of a cartoon content display method according toone exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 20A and 20B show an example of an additional layer displayed incorrespondence with a user event in a reverse direction; and

FIG. 21 shows an example of advertisement information that may beadditionally displayed on cartoon content.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the presentinvention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elementsthroughout. In this regard, the present embodiments may have differentforms and should not be construed as being limited to the descriptionsset forth herein. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments are merelydescribed below, by referring to the figures, to explain aspects of thepresent description. Expressions such as “at least one of,” whenpreceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and donot modify the individual elements of the list.

It will be understood that although the terms ‘first’, ‘second,’ etc.may be used herein to describe various components, these componentsshould not be limited by these terms. These components are only used todistinguish one component from another.

As used herein, the singular forms ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’ are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise.

It will be further understood that the terms ‘comprise’ and/or‘comprising’ used herein specify the presence of stated features orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features or components.

When a certain embodiment may be implemented differently, a specificprocess order may be performed differently from the described order. Forexample, two consecutively described processes may be performedsubstantially at the same time or performed in an order opposite to thedescribed order

The term ‘cartoon content’ may mean data created by a cartoon contentcreator or a cartoonist. A piece of the cartoon content may beconfigured to include at least one cut. The term ‘cut’ may mean datacontaining one scene and may include at least one layer including animage or text. The cartoon content may individually include each cut asan image file or may include one image file including all of the atleast one cut.

The term ‘display region’ is a region of the cartoon content that isshown to a user through a display unit or the cartoon content displayedin response to a user request on the region. The cartoon content maycorrespond to and move according to user events that are input by theuser. The display region may be changed according to the movement of thecartoon content, and accordingly the displayed cartoon content may alsobe changed.

The term ‘effect’ indicates an animation operation that is contained inthe whole of the cartoon content or a part thereof and is contained in alayer or a cut. In more detail, the effect includes a movement of alayer, division, going down, going up, expansion, a slow movement, afast movement, an operation causing a color change, a perspective effectof a cut, a movement of a time difference, rotation, transparentprocessing, rescaling, and setting a clipping region, but is not limitedthereto.

The cut or the layer may include property information. The propertyinformation of the cut or the layer may include location information,layer information, or other effect information.

In more detail, the location information is information relating to thelayer or the cut that is not fixed but moves such as the movement ormoves while individual time intervals and indicates a location thatdisplays the layer or the cut in which the effect is set. The locationinformation may designate an inner or outer location that displays thecut as a pixel value or a percent value. For example, in the case of afirst cut including a first layer, initial and final locations of thefirst layer may be set as locations in the first cut.

The layer information is information regarding a display sequence of aplurality of layers included in the cut or the layer and may be set assequentially increasing or decreasing numbers from a layer that is to bedisplayed uppermost to a layer that is to be displayed lowermost. Aplurality of layers included in one cut or layer may be displayedaccording to the set layer information. A first layer and a second layerdisplayed behind the first layer may be wholly or partially overlapped.Other effect information may include movement information, speedinformation, music information, vibration information, colorinformation, an effect display start time, etc. For example, the effectinformation may include information regarding an initial location, afinal location, a start time, or an end time of the layer or the cut ora color change time or point. The effect information may include a firstcolor that is initial color information and a second color that is colorinformation changed from the first color in connection with a colorchanging effect. The effect information may include a movement speedsuch as 2 times, 3 times, ½ times, and ⅓ times of speed corresponding toa user event.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a cartoon content providing system 10 accordingto an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, the cartoon content providing system 10 accordingto the exemplary embodiments includes a cartoon content displayapparatus 200, a cartoon content server 100, a communication network300, and a cartoon content generation apparatus 400.

The cartoon content server 100 provides cartoon content or cartooncontent display means to a user terminal. The cartoon content server 100may provide the cartoon content classified according to authors,episodes, works, and days and may provide works of which publishing hasbeen finished. The cartoon content server 100 may selectively providethe cartoon content according to a request from the cartoon contentdisplay apparatus 200. The cartoon content server 100 may receive andstore cartoon content generated by the cartoon content generationapparatus 400.

The cartoon content generation apparatus 400 provides means forgenerating the cartoon content to a cartoon content creator (forexample, a cartoonist). The cartoon content generation apparatus 400 mayprovide a user interface for conveniently generating 2D cartoon content.The cartoon content generation apparatus 400 may provide a function ofgenerating one or more cuts included in the cartoon content, a functionof generating one or more layers included in the cuts, or an effectinput function of applying an effect to the layers. The cartoon contentgeneration apparatus 400 may provide a function of changing andgenerating a layer including the effect such that the effect may beappropriately provided to a user with respect to the layer. Here, theuser is the person who creates the cartoon data.

For example, if the cartoonist sets a time difference effect whichcauses a plurality of layers included in the cut to move at differenttimes or at different speeds, the cartoon content generation apparatus400 may control initial and final location information to be input intoa plurality of layers included in the cut and may generate cartooncontent such that the layers may move along movement paths betweenrespective initial and final locations. In this regard, the respectivelayers may move at different movement speeds along the movement paths ofthe respective layers.

If the cartoonist sets a perspective effect to a cut, the cartooncontent generation apparatus 400 may control layer information to beinput into a plurality of layers included in the cut and may generatecartoon content such that the layers may have movements according to thelayer information.

In addition, if the cartoonist sets an effect to a cut to move at a 3times the speed corresponding to a user event, the cartoon contentgeneration apparatus 400 may generate cartoon content including theeffect to move the cut at a speed 3 times the preset general speed.

In alternative exemplary embodiments, the cartoon content generationapparatus 400 may control start or end time information to be input intothe whole or a part of one or more layers included in a cut. The cartooncontent generation apparatus 400 may generate a final cut to expresscuts in correspondence with a start or end time. That is, the cartooncontent generation apparatus 400 may generate the final cut such thatcuts may be expressed from the start time to the end time, and, if theend time elapses, a final layer may be displayed.

The plurality of cartoon content generation apparatuses 400 may meancommunication terminals using a web service in a wired/wirelesscommunication environment. In this regard, the cartoon contentgeneration apparatus 400 may be a personal computer 401 of the user or amobile terminal 402 of the user. The mobile terminal 402 is illustratedas a smart phone in FIG. 1 but the exemplary embodiments are not limitedthereto. As described above, a terminal having an application capable ofweb browsing embedded therein may be employed without limitation.

In more detail, the cartoon content generation apparatus 400 may includea computer (e.g., a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet PC,etc.), a media computing platform (e.g., a cable, a satellite set-topbox, a digital video recorder, etc.), a handheld computing device (e.g.,a PDA, an email client, etc.), any type of a mobile phone, or othertypes of computing or communication platforms, but the exemplaryembodiments are not limited thereto.

The cartoon content display apparatus 200 may be an apparatus thatdisplays the cartoon content received from the cartoon content server100 or stored cartoon content in correspondence with a user event. Inthis regard, the cartoon content may be data generated by the cartooncontent generation apparatus 400. The cartoon content display apparatus200 may display the cartoon content from a first cut to a last cut onone page or on a plurality of pages. The cartoon content displayapparatus 200 may move the cartoon content in correspondence with theuser event, change a display region displayed on a display unit of thecartoon content display apparatus 200, and display the cartoon content.

The cartoon content display apparatus 200 may move the cartoon contentincluding a perspective effect and a time difference effect which causesa plurality of layers included in the cut to move at different times orat different speeds, in correspondence with the user event and displaythe effect. In this regard, the effect may be displayed from a starttime set by a creator.

The cartoon content display apparatus 200 may adjust a moving speed ofthe cartoon content according to information (types and number ofeffects, types and number of layers, number of words included in text,etc.) regarding the user event and a cut included in a currentlydisplayed first region, an average reading speed of the cartoon content,or an average reading speed of the user, etc. In alternative exemplaryembodiments, the cartoon content display apparatus 200 may adjust amoving distance of the cartoon content according to the informationregarding the user event and the cut included in the currently displayedfirst region.

The cartoon content display apparatus 200 may determine the moving speedand distance of the cartoon content such that the cartoon content maycorrespond to not only the user event but also content of the cartooncontent.

The cartoon content display apparatus 200 may display the cartooncontent in consideration of an effect applied to one or more layersincluded in a cut included in the cartoon content when providing thecartoon content received from the cartoon content server 100 or storedcartoon content. The cartoon content display apparatus 200 may displayrespective layers according to types of the respective layers. A methodof displaying the cartoon content according to the types of layers andan applied effect will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2through 18.

The plurality of cartoon content display apparatuses 200 meancommunication terminals using a web service in a wired/wirelesscommunication environment. In this regard, the cartoon content displayapparatus 200 may be a personal computer 201 of the user or a mobileterminal 202 of the user. The mobile terminal 202 is illustrated as asmart phone in FIG. 1 but the exemplary embodiments are not limitedthereto. As described above, a terminal having an application capable ofweb browsing embedded therein may be employed without limitation.

In more detail, the cartoon content display apparatus 200 may include acomputer (e.g., a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet PC,etc.), a media computing platform (e.g., a cable, a satellite set-topbox, a digital video recorder, etc.), a handheld computing device (e.g.,a PDA, an email client, etc.), any type of a mobile phone, or othertypes of computing or communication platforms, but the exemplaryembodiments are not limited thereto.

The communication network 300 may connect the plurality of cartooncontent display apparatuses 200 and the cartoon content server 100. Thatis, the communication network 300 may provide connection paths fortransmitting and receiving data between the cartoon content displayapparatuses 200 and the cartoon content server 100 after the cartooncontent display apparatuses 200 access the cartoon content server 100.The communication network 300 may include, for example, wired networkssuch as local-area networks (LANs), wide-area networks (WANs),metropolitan area networks (MANs), integrated service digital networks(ISDNs), etc. or wireless networks such as wireless LANs, CDMA,Bluetooth, satellite network, etc., but the exemplary embodiments arenot limited thereto.

The cartoon content generation apparatus 400 according to the presentexemplary embodiments may set an effect with respect to a cut or one ormore layers included in the cut, convert the cut or the respectivelayers to be expressed to include the effect, and generate a final cutincluding the converted cut or layers. Accordingly, the cartoon contentdisplay apparatus 200 according to the exemplary embodiments may moveand display cartoon content including the effect in correspondence witha user event.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the cartoon content generation apparatus400 according to one exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2, the cartoon content generation apparatus 400according to the exemplary embodiment includes a controller 410, acommunication unit 420, a storage unit 430, an input unit 440, and adisplay unit 450.

The controller 410 generates one or more image files (hereinafterreferred to as layers) that are input through the input unit 440 asfinal cartoon content in consideration of an input effect, propertyinformation of the effect, etc. The controller 410 may generate thefinal cartoon content such that a plurality of layers input by a usermay be expressed to include the effect set by the user. When a pluralityof layers included in one cut is set to have a perspective effect, thecontroller 410 may generate a final cut to move according to depthinformation of the respective layers with respect to individual movementdegrees and directions. When a plurality of layers included in one cutis set to have a time difference effect which causes a plurality oflayers included in the cut to move at different times or at differentspeeds, the controller 410 may generate a final cut to move according toinitial or final locations of the respective layers with respect toindividual moving paths and speeds. The controller 410 may determine themoving speed of the cartoon content according to property information ofone or more cuts included in a piece of cartoon content. The controller410 may determine the moving speed of the cartoon content according toan effect of a cut displayed on a predetermined region of a displayregion, and property information in relation to the predeterminedregion. The controller 410 may display the cartoon content not to movebut stop even if a user event is input.

The communication unit 420 may include one or more components thatenable communication between the cartoon content generation apparatus400 and the cartoon content server 100. For example, the communicationunit 420 may include a short-distance wireless communication unit or amobile communication unit. Examples of the short-range wirelesscommunication unit may include, but are not limited to, a Bluetoothcommunication unit, a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) communication unit, anear-field communication unit, a WLAN (Wi-Fi) communication unit, aZigbee communication unit, an infrared data association (IrDA)communication unit, a Wi-Fi direct (WFD) communication unit, aultra-wideband (UWB) communication unit, an Ant+ communication unit,etc. The mobile communication unit may exchange a radio signal with atleast one among a base station, an external terminal, and a server in amobile communication network. The radio signal may include a voice callsignal, a video communication call signal, or various types of data viatransmission and reception of text/multimedia messages. Thecommunication unit 420 may communicate with the cartoon content server100 to obtain the cartoon content or an application for displaying thecartoon content from the cartoon content server 100.

The storage unit 430 stores the cartoon content obtained through thecommunication unit 420.

The input unit 440 is a means used by a user to input an event or datafor controlling the cartoon content generation apparatus 400. Forexample, the input unit 440 may include a key pad, a dome switch, atouch pad (of a contact capacitive type, a press resistive type, aninfrared sensing type, a surface ultrasonic conductive type, anintegration tension measurement type, or a piezo effect type), a jogwheel, a jog switch, etc. but is not limited thereto.

The input unit 440 obtains a user input. For example, the input unit 440may obtain a user event with respect to the cartoon content, a scrollinput, a direction key input, a movable touch input having apredetermined direction.

The display unit 450 displays a user interface for generating thecartoon content. The display unit 450 may display the user event that isinput through the input unit 440 and a cut and a layer added by the useraccording to the user interface. When the display unit 450 is configuredwith a touch screen in which a touch pad forms a layer structure, thedisplay unit 450 may be used as an input device in addition to an outputdevice. The display unit 450 may include at least one of a liquidcrystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display(TFT-LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, a flexibledisplay, a 3D display, and an electrophoretic display.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the controller 410.

Referring to FIG. 3, the controller 410 includes a display controller416, a cut input controller 411, an effect input controller 413, and acut generator 415.

The cut input controller 411 controls a cut and property information ofthe cut, which are to be added by a user, to be input into generatedcartoon content. In this regard, the cut may include one or more layers.The property information of the cut may include the horizontal length ofthe cut, the vertical length, the shape, and the importance set by acreator. The cut may be data included in the cartoon content and may beconfigured to express one scene among the cartoon content. In thisregard, the layer may be 2D data included in the cut and include animage or text.

In another exemplary embodiment, the cut input controller 411 mayfurther include a layer input controller (not shown) that controls oneor more layers that need to be included in a cut added or selected bythe user to be input. The cut input controller 411 may control thelayers to be included in the cut in correspondence with a layer additionevent that occurs by the user.

The effect input controller 413 may control the type of an effect thatneeds to be included in the one or more layers included in one cut to beinput. In this regard, the type of the effect indicates an animationoperation included in the layers and may include a movement of thelayers, division, going down, going up, expansion, a slow movement, afast movement, an operation causing a color change, a perspective effectof a cut, a movement set while individual time intervals, rotation,transparent processing, rescaling, and setting a clipping region, but isnot limited thereto.

The effect input controller 413 controls different property informationto be input according to the type of the effect. For example, when aneffect that moves (hereinafter referred to as a moving effect) is inputto a layer, the effect input controller 413 may control initial andfinal locations, start and end time, etc. that are necessary for themoving effect to be input.

When an effect that displays a perspective between layers (hereinafterreferred to as a perspective effect) is input, the effect inputcontroller 413 may control depth information of layers and an occurrencetime of the perspective effect that are necessary for the perspectiveeffect to be input. When an effect that changes a color (hereinafterreferred to as a color change effect) is input to a layer, the effectinput controller 413 may control information regarding a color changetime or point, a first color that is initial color information, a secondcolor that is changed color information to be input.

When an effect that moves slower than speed corresponding to a userevent is input to a layer, the effect input controller 413 may inputinitial and final locations, start and end time, etc., like the movementof the layer, and may set a moving speed as one of 2 times (2×), 3 times(3×), ½ time, and ⅓ time.

In other exemplary embodiments, when an effect that sets a clippingregion is input to a layer, the effect input controller 413 may furtherreceive clipping region information in correspondence with a clippingregion setting effect. In this regard, the clipping region informationmay be referred to as a region directed as a clipping effect incorrespondence with a user event and may be set to include at leastpartial region of the layer. The clipping region information may be setin relation to a boundary of the layer.

In other exemplary embodiments, the effect input controller 413 mayfurther receive importance of layers included in a cut and speedproperty information. In this regard, the importance may be informationarbitrarily set by a cartoonist based on a portion of layers or cutsthat occupies in the entire work.

In other exemplary embodiments, the effect input controller 413 mayfurther include an additional layer displayed in correspondence with auser event in a reverse direction. The additional layer may not bedisplayed in correspondence with a user event in a forward direction butmay be displayed in correspondence with the user event in the reversedirection.

In other exemplary embodiments, the effect input controller 413 mayfurther include an effect display start time. In this regard, the effectdisplay start time may be set as one of a display start time, a pagestart time, a previous effect end time, and a simultaneous time withrespect to a previous effect but is not limited thereto.

In other exemplary embodiments, the effect input controller 413 mayreceive property information “stop when an effect is displayed” aseffect property information.

The cut generator 415 generates a final cut such that a first layerincluding the moving effect may move a moving distance between initialand final locations in correspondence with a user event. The cutgenerator 415 may generate the final cut such that a second layerincluding the perspective effect may periodically move along a depth ofthe second layer. The cut generator 415 may generate the final cut suchthat a third layer including the color change effect may be changed fromthe first color to the second color in relation to an input change time.The cut generator 415 may generate the final cut such that a fourthlayer including the effect that moves slower than speed corresponding toa user event may move at the moving speed in correspondence with theuser event.

In other exemplary embodiment, the cut generator 415 may controlreceiving of initial and final locations of a plurality of layers incorrespondence with a time difference effect which move while individualtime intervals or move at individual speeds, determine moving speeds ofthe respective speeds based on distance differences between the initialand final locations of the plurality of layers, and generate the finalcut such that the plurality of layers may individually move at themoving speeds.

In other exemplary embodiments, the cut generator 415 may generate finallayers such that the plurality of layers may have movement degrees anddirections based on layers of the respective layers.

The cut generator 415 may determine a reaction speed of a layer inconsideration of layer information of a cut, speed property information,number of text, effect information, importance, number of layers, ascreen size, and a space between the cut and a previous cut, andgenerate a final cut such that the layer may be reproduced at thereaction speed. The cut generator 415 may preferably determine a movingspeed of cartoon content for each section according to an effect of acut displayed on a predetermined region of a display region, andproperty information of the cut and generate a final cut such that atleast one layer included the cut displayed may move at the moving speedfor each section. Here Section is equally or unequally divided timeinterval to the total time which cuts or layers are displayed to apredetermined number.

For example, the cut generator 415 may increase an expression time of acut including layers of which number is greater than a preset thresholdvalue by increasing a reproduction time of the cut. To this end, the cutgenerator 415 may reduce a reaction speed, i.e. a moving distance or amoving speed, corresponding to a user event while the cut is displayed.That is, the cut including a great number of layers may be expressed tomove slowly.

For example, the cut generator 415 may allow a user to sufficientlyrecognize text included in a cut by increasing a reproduction time ofthe cut including a great number of the text. To this end, the cutgenerator 415 may reduce a reaction speed, i.e. a moving distance or amoving speed, corresponding to a user event while the cut is displayed.

For example, the cut generator 415 may allow effects included in a cutto be sufficiently displayed to a user by increasing a reproduction timeor display time of the cut including great number, types, and size ofthe effects. To this end, the cut generator 415 may reduce a reactionspeed, i.e., a moving distance or a moving speed, corresponding to auser event while the cut is displayed.

In alternative exemplary embodiments, the cut generator 415 may setthreshold values of respective set values in consideration of a verticallength of a cut, when layer information of the cut, speed propertyinformation, number of words included in text, effect information,importance, number of layers, a screen size, a space between the cut anda previous cut, etc. exceed the threshold values, determine that areaction speed of the layer is slower than a general level or speedcorresponding to a user event, and generate a final cut such that thelayer may be reproduced or be displayed at the reaction speed. Forexample, the cut generator 415 may set threshold values of a first cuthaving a first length smaller than those of a second cut having a secondlength longer than the first length, and when property information ofthe first cut exceeds the respective threshold values, determine a slowreaction speed of the first cut. The cut generator 415 may increase amoving speed or distance of the first cut such that a moving effectincluded in the first cut having a vertical length shorter than that ofthe second cut may be sufficiently recognized by the user.

In alternative exemplary embodiments, the cut generator 415 may generatea final cut that is stopped and displayed irrespective of a user eventeven if the user event is input, in correspondence with propertyinformation “stop when the effect is displayed” of an effect.

In alternative exemplary embodiments, the cut generator 415 may generatea final cut according to a display start time of an effect included in acut.

The display controller 416 provides a user interface for generatingcartoon content through the display unit 450. The display controller 416may control to display the user interface for generating the cartooncontent and adding a cut and a layer and display an effect setup menuthat may be included in the layer.

The cartoon content generation apparatus 400 according to the exemplaryembodiments may set an effect with respect to one or more layersincluded in a cut, convert the respective layers that are to bereproduced to include the effect, and generate a final cut including theconverted layers.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a user interface 400 of the cartoon contentgeneration apparatus 400.

The cartoon content generation apparatus 400 may provide an effectselection window A1 including an effect applicable to a layer, a groupeffect selection window A2 including an effect applicable to a pluralityof layers, and a page effect selection window A3 including an effectapplicable to a cut to a part of the screen.

The group effect selection window A2 may include a parallax button thatapplies a time difference effect which moves while individual timeintervals, a perspective providing button that applies a perspectiveeffect, and animation.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the cartoon content display apparatus 200according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 5, the cartoon content display apparatus 200 includesa controller 210, a communication unit 220, a display unit 230, an inputunit 240, a storage unit 250, and a sound output unit 260.

The controller 210 controls to display cartoon content through thedisplay unit 230. The controller 210 controls to appropriately displaythe cartoon content generated by the cartoon content generationapparatus 400. That is, the controller 210 controls to display thecartoon content generated by the cartoon content generation apparatus400 as set by a cartoonist.

In alternative exemplary embodiments, the controller 210 may control themoving speed or distance of the cartoon content such that one or morecuts included in the cartoon content, one or more layers included in thecut, and an effect applied in a layer or cut unit may be appropriatelydisplayed.

In more detail, the controller 210 may calculate not only the movingspeed or distance of the cartoon content in correspondence with an inputtime or direction of a user event (for example, a scroll input, adirection key input, or a moving touch input) but also the moving speedor distance of the cartoon content in further consideration of propertyinformation of a cut or a layer, number of words included in text of thecut or the layer, etc. In other exemplary embodiments, the controller210 may calculate the moving speed or distance of the cartoon content infurther consideration of an average reading speed of the cartooncontent, an average reading speed of a user, an average reading speed ofa cartoon having the same genre as that of the cartoon content, anaverage reading speed of a cartoon of a cartoonist of the cartooncontent, etc.

The communication unit 220 may include one or more components thatenable communication between the cartoon content display apparatus 200and the cartoon content server 100. For example, the communication unit220 may include a short-distance wireless communication unit or a mobilecommunication unit. Examples of the short-range wireless communicationunit may include, but are not limited to, a Bluetooth communicationunit, a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) communication unit, a near-fieldcommunication unit, a WLAN (Wi-Fi) communication unit, a Zigbeecommunication unit, an infrared data association (IrDA) communicationunit, a Wi-Fi direct (WFD) communication unit, a ultra-wideband (UWB)communication unit, an Ant+ communication unit, etc. The mobilecommunication unit may exchange a radio signal with at least one among abase station, an external terminal, and a server in a mobilecommunication network. The radio signal may include a voice call signal,a video communication call signal, or various types of data viatransmission and reception of text/multimedia messages. Thecommunication unit 220 may communicate with the cartoon content server100 to obtain the cartoon content or an application for displaying thecartoon content from the cartoon content server 100.

The input unit 240 is a means used by a user to input data forcontrolling the cartoon content display apparatus 200. For example, theinput unit 240 may include a key pad, a dome switch, a touch pad (of acontact capacitive type, a press resistive type, an infrared sensingtype, a surface ultrasonic conductive type, an integration tensionmeasurement type, or a piezo effect type), a jog wheel, a jog switch,etc. but is not limited thereto.

The input unit 240 obtains a user input. For example, the input unit 240may obtain a user event with respect to the cartoon content, a scrollinput, a direction key input, a movable touch input having apredetermined direction.

The display unit 230 displays the cartoon content and displays thecartoon content by moving the cartoon content in correspondence with theuser event with respect to the cartoon content. The display unit 230 maydisplay the cartoon content by moving the cartoon content according tothe moving speed and distance in consideration of the user event and theproperty information of the cartoon content. When the display unit 230is configured with a touch screen in which a touch pad forms a layerstructure, the display unit 230 may be used as an input device inaddition to an output device. The display unit 230 may include at leastone of a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor-liquidcrystal display (TFT-LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED)display, a flexible display, a 3D display, and an electrophoreticdisplay.

The storage unit 250 stores the cartoon content obtained through thecommunication unit 220.

The sound output unit 260 outputs audio data received from thecommunication unit 220 or stored in the storage unit 250. The soundoutput unit 260 may output sound signals relating to effect sound andbackground sound included in the cartoon content. The sound output unit260 may include a speaker, a buzzer, etc.

The sound output unit 260 may further include a vibration motor (notshown). The vibration motor may output a vibration signal. For example,the vibration motor may output he vibration signal corresponding to anoutput of audio data or image data (for example, the effect sound andthe background sound included in the cartoon content). The vibrationmotor may also output the vibration signal when a touch is input to thetouch screen of a display unit 230.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the controller 210.

Referring to FIG. 6, the controller 210 includes an event processor 211and a display controller 212.

The event processor 211 may calculate the moving distance or speed ofcartoon content corresponding to a user event that is input through theinput unit 240 or process the user event according to the calculatedmoving distance of speed. The event processor 211 calculates the movingspeed or distance of a cut included in a display region incorrespondence with the user event. The event processor 211 calculatesthe moving distance or speed of the cartoon content in correspondencewith the user event and allow the cartoon content to move at the movingspeed by the moving distance. The event processor 211 may calculate themoving speed or distance in consideration of input time and direction ofthe user event, i.e., a scroll input, a direction key input, and amovable touch input.

In more detail, the event processor 211 may move the cartoon content bya first moving distance in a progress direction corresponding to a clockdirection. When a touch input having a movement in a vertical directionand a second input time is input, the event processor 211 may set adirection of the touch input as a moving direction and calculate asecond moving distance corresponding to a length of the touch input. Theevent processor 211 may calculate a first moving speed using the secondmoving distance and the second input time. The event processor 211 maycalculate a moving speed based on a moving distance and an input time ofthe user event. The event processor 211 may calculate the moving speedbased on the moving distance and the input time of the user event andincrease or reduce the moving speed in consideration of propertyinformation of the cut or a layer included in the display region.

In alternative exemplary embodiments, the event processor 211 mayconsider property information of a cut or a layer included in thecartoon content when calculating the moving speed or distance of thecartoon content. When the cut included in the display region includes agreat number of layers, effects, or words included in text, the eventprocessor 211 may reduce the moving speed or distance of the cartooncontent in order to increase an expression time of the cut. The eventprocessor 211 may increase the moving speed or distance of the cartooncontent according to speed set information of a cut or a layer includedin a display region. In this regard, the moving speed or distance of thecartoon content may be determined in relation to an effect or propertyinformation of a cut or a layer displayed on a predetermined region ofthe display region. In this regard, the cut or the layer displayed onthe predetermined region of the display region may be a representativecut or layer. For example, the representative cut or layer may be afirst cut or layer of the display region or a center cut or layerthereof but is not limited thereto.

In alternative exemplary embodiments, the event processor 211 maycalculate the moving speed or distance of the cartoon content inconsideration of an average reading speed of the cartoon content, anaverage reading speed of the user, etc. In this regard, the averagereading speed of the user may be the moving speed of the cartoon contentand may be calculated by using an accumulatively stored cartoon contentmoving speed of users. For example, when a first user reads one page ofcartoon content for three minutes, whereas a second user reads one pageof the same cartoon content for six minutes, the event processor 211 mayincrease the moving speed or distance of the cartoon content inconsideration of a reading speed of the first user higher than that ofthe second user. In other exemplary embodiments, the event processor 211may calculate reading ability of users according to users, works,genres, ages, and genders. For example, since a thriller cartoon isgenerally viewed at a speed faster than that of a comic cartoon, theevent processor 211 may reduce the moving speed or distance of thecartoon content with respect to the thriller cartoon.

The event processor 211 may change the display of the cartoon content inconsideration of a specification of a user terminal. When the userterminal has a large screen, the user terminal displays a great amountof data at a time, and the user has a high data recognition ratecompared to a small screen, the event processor 211 may increase themoving speed or distance of the cartoon content according to a screensize of the user terminal.

The event processor 211 may calculate a moving distance based on aninput length of a user event. In this regard, the input length mayinclude a rotation number of the user event, i.e. a scroll input, afrequency and time of a direction key input, and a touch length of atouch input.

The display controller 212 displays the movement of the cartoon contentthat moves a moving distance corresponding to the user event at a movingspeed corresponding to the user event in correspondence with the userevent and allows the display region to be changed in correspondence withthe movement. That is, the display controller 212 controls to move thecartoon content from a first region of the cartoon content by the movingdistance at the moving speed and controls to finally display a secondregion of the cartoon content.

In alternative exemplary embodiments, the display controller 212 maycontrol to display the display region according to property informationof a cut or layer of the display region.

In alternative exemplary embodiments, the display controller 212 maycontrol to set threshold values of respective set values inconsideration of a vertical length of a cut, when layer information ofthe cut, speed property information, number of words included in text,effect information, importance, number of layers, a screen size, a spacebetween the cut and a previous cut, etc. exceed the threshold values,control to determine that a reaction speed of the layer is slower than ageneral level, and control to reproduce the cut at the reaction speed.For example, the display controller 212 may set threshold values of afirst cut having a first length smaller than those of a second cuthaving a second length longer than the first length, and when propertyinformation of the first cut exceeds the respective threshold values,determine a slow reaction speed of the first cut. The display controller212 may increase a moving speed or distance of the first cut such that amoving effect included in the first cut having a vertical length shorterthan that of the second cut may be sufficiently recognized by the user.

In alternative exemplary embodiments, the display controller 212 may notallow the cartoon content to correspond to an input user event inconsideration of property information of an effect included in a cut andmay stop and display the cartoon content until a predetermined period oftime elapses or a predetermined user event is input.

The display controller 212 may calculate a movement path between initialand final locations of a cut or a layer including a moving effect ortime difference effect and control the layer to move along the movementpath. In this regard, a moving speed used to move the moving distancemay be set by the cartoon content generation apparatus 400 inconsideration of a distance difference between the initial and finallocations set by a user who creates the cartoon content, i.e. acartoonist or a ratio between vertical lengths of the cur or the layer.For example, when a layer including location information is displayed,the display controller 212 may control the layer to move a path betweeninitial and final locations of the layer at the set moving speed.

The display controller 212 may control displaying of layers in amovement considering depth information of cuts or layers including aperspective effect. The display controller 212 may calculate movementdirections and degrees of the respective layers in consideration ofdepths of the layers and control moving of the respective layers in amovement of the calculated movement directions and degrees. In thisregard, although the movement directions are random directions, themovement directions may be determined in consideration of movementdirections of layers of adjacent depths. The display controller 212 maydetermine a movement degree of a layer of an Nth depth in considerationof the movement directions of layers of adjacent depths. For example,the movement degree of the layer of the Nth depth may be smaller thanthat of a layer of an N−1th depth and may be greater than that of alayer of an N+1th depth.

The display controller 212 may control to display respective cuts orlayers including other effects according to speed information, vibrationinformation, color information, etc. of the cuts or the layers.

The display controller 212 may control to display a layer included in acut by adjusting a display location of the layer included in a displayregion in consideration of a display rate of the cut. For example, whenthe display rate is 10 percent, the display controller 212 may displaythe layer included in the cut by adjusting a location of the layer to aninitial location, and, if the display rate increases from 10 percent to50 percent according to a user event, may display the layer by adjustingthe location of the layer to move from 10 percent of a moving path to 50percent thereof.

The display controller 212 may adjust a display rate of a cut incorrespondence with a user event, and, when the display rate satisfies apredetermined condition, control to display a layer included in a cut bychanging a color of the layer. For example, when the display rate is 50percent, the display controller 212 may control to change the color ofthe layer that is set to be changed from a sky color to a black coloraccording to the display rate of the cut.

When the display rate satisfies the predetermined condition incorrespondence with the user event, the display controller 212 maycontrol to make the layer included in the cut disappear. For example,when the display rate of the cut is more than 80 percent, the displaycontroller 212 may control to make the layer, that is set to disappearaccording to the condition, disappear.

The display controller 212 may control moving of not only a layer incorrespondence with the user event but also a layer that has completelymoved in correspondence with the user event. For example, the displaycontroller 212 may display the layer that is set to include aperspective effect to have a periodic movement when the cartoon contentincluding the layer stops moving or when no user input is entered. Thedisplay controller 212 may control the movement of the layer, which isset to move along a first path when the cartoon content including thelayer is stopped.

The display controller 212 may control to display a second region of thecartoon content that moves in a reverse direction by a moving distancefrom a first region of the cartoon content that is a current displayregion in correspondence with a user event in the reverse direction andcontrol to display the second region to further include an additionallayer. In this regard, the additional layer that is not displayed incorrespondence with a user event in a forward direction may be anadvertisement layer relating to an object included in the second regionor may be a layer set by a cartoon content creator. For example, whenthe user event in the reverse direction is input to the cartoon content,the display controller 212 may change a display region in correspondencewith the user event in the reverse direction while further including, ina cut included in the display region, a layer including advertisementinformation regarding beverage, Ramen, and household appliances, aforeshadow item informing content of a next episode, a fear item thatmay give a new message, etc. that are not displayed in correspondencewith the user event in the forward direction.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a cartoon content display method according toone exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7, the cartoon content display method according to theexemplary embodiment is a method of displaying cartoon content incorrespondence with a user event and includes an operation S110 ofdisplaying a first region, an operation S120 of inputting the userevent, an operation S130 of calculating the moving distance and themoving speed of the cartoon content in consideration of the user eventand the first region, an operation S140 of moving the cartoon content,and an operation S150 of displaying a second region.

In operation S110, the display unit 230 displays the first region of thecartoon content.

In operation S120, the input unit 240 receives the user event, a scrollinput, a direction key input, and a moving touch input from a user.

In operation S130, the event processor 211 calculates a first speedcorresponding to the user event, calculate a second speed correspondingto an effect of a first cut located in at least a part of the firstregion, and a third speed corresponding to an effect of a second cutlocated in at least a part of the first region. The event processor 211may calculate the moving distance or the moving speed of the cartooncontent in correspondence with the user event or in consideration of aneffect included in the first region.

In operation S140, the display controller 212 may control to display thecartoon content by moving the cartoon content at the second speed whilethe first cut is displayed on a predetermined region of a screen andthen at the third speed while the second cut is displayed on thepredetermined region. The display controller 212 may control to displaya first effect included in the first cut while moving at the secondspeed and a second effect included in the second cut while moving at thethird speed. The display controller 212 may control to display amovement of the cartoon content that moves at the moving speed incorrespondence with the user event, change a display region incorrespondence with the movement, and sequentially display one or moreeffects included in a cut of the display region in correspondence withthe movement.

In operation S150, the display controller 212 may display the secondregion of the cartoon content moved from the first region by the movingdistance.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a cartoon content display method according toanother exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 8, the cartoon content display method according to theexemplary embodiment may be a method of displaying cartoon contentaccording to property information of a cut or a layer and includes anoperation S210 of displaying a display region, an operation S220 ofanalyzing property information of a layer of the display region, and anoperation S230 of displaying an effect included in the layer.

In operation S210, the cartoon content display apparatus 200 moves thecartoon content in correspondence with the user event that is inputthrough the display controller 212 and display a part of the cartooncontent. The event processor 211 calculates a moving speed or a movingdistance of the cartoon content in correspondence with the user eventand controls to move the cartoon content at the moving speed by themoving distance. In operation S220, the event processor 211 analyzes theproperty information of the layer included in the display region of thecartoon content. In this regard, the property information of the layeris described above and thus a detailed description thereof is omitted.

In operation S230, the event processor 211 analyzes the propertyinformation and determines the effect included in the layer. Inoperation S230, the display controller 212 allows an operationcorresponding to the effect to be displayed. For example, when propertyinformation of the effect includes “when the effect is displayed, stop”,the display unit 230 may allow the cartoon content to not move while theeffect is displayed according to the property information. The displaycontroller 212 may determine whether the user event or an elapsed timesatisfies a first condition, and, when the user event or the elapsedtime satisfies the first condition, move the cartoon content again incorrespondence with an input user event. For example, when the displayunit 230 displays a cut including the effect during a preset elapsedtime, i.e. during more than 10 seconds, the cartoon content displayapparatus 200 may move the cartoon content again in correspondence withthe input user event, and when the input unit 240 receives a user eventcorresponding to an input length more than 200 percent of a verticallength of the display region, the cartoon content display apparatus 200may move the cartoon content again in correspondence with the input userevent.

FIGS. 9 through 11 are diagrams relating to a perspective effect appliedto the exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a user interface to which a perspectiveeffect of the cartoon content generation apparatus 400 is applied.

Referring to FIG. 9, when a user applies the perspective effect to aplurality of layers included in a cut, the cartoon content generationapparatus 400 may display the screen including a preview window A4, acut preview window A5, a layer display window A6, and an informationinput window A7.

The cut preview window A5 may preview a cut selected by a cartoonist.The layer display window A6 may sequentially display layers included inthe cut. When the user selects the perspective effect, the informationinput window A7 may receive information related to the perspectiveeffect through a displayed window.

The user may input an application time of the perspective effect anddepth information through the information input window A7. In thisregard, the application time of the perspective effect may be one of atime when the layer including the perspective effect appears on ascreen, a time when a page starts, a simultaneous time with respect to aprevious effect, and a time when the previous effect ends.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a cartoon content generation method accordingto another exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 10, the cartoon content generation method according tothe exemplary embodiments includes a cut adding operation S310, aneffect input operation S320, a property information input operationS330, and a final cut generation operation S340.

In operation S310, the input unit 440 receives a signal that adds a cutthat is to be added to cartoon content.

In operation S320, the input unit 440 receives an effect selectionsignal including a type of an effect that is to be applied to the cut.The input unit 440 receives a signal that selects one of an effectapplied to one layer and an effect applied to a plurality of layers.

In operation S330, the input unit 440 receives property informationaccording to the type of the effect. For example, when a perspectiveeffect is input between layers, the effect input controller 413 maycontrol inputting of depth information of layers necessary for theperspective effect and a time when the perspective effect occurs.

In another exemplary embodiment, the effect input controller 413 mayfurther receive importance of layers included in a cut and speedproperty information. In this regard, the importance may be informationarbitrarily set by a cartoonist based on a portion of layers thatoccupies in the entire work.

In other exemplary embodiments, the cartoon content generation apparatus400 may further include an additional layer displayed in correspondencewith a user event in a reverse direction. The additional layer may notbe displayed in correspondence with a user event in a forward directionbut may be displayed in correspondence with the user event in thereverse direction.

In operation S340, the cut generator 415 may generate a final cut toexpress the cut according to the type of the input effect and propertyinformation.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a plurality of layers A8, A9, A10, and A11including a perspective effect.

As shown in FIG. 11, one cut may include the plurality of layers A8, A9,A10, and A11 that may have different distance differences. Referring toFIG. 11, the first layer A8 may include a sky image, the second layer A9may include a far mountain image, the third layer A10 may include a nearmountain image, and the fourth layer A11 may include a nearest road andcar image. That is, the first through fourth layers A8, A9, A10, and A11may be layers that are to be expressed according to a distancedifference from a point of view of a user viewing the cartoon. Acartoonist may set fourth through first layers with respect to the firstthrough fourth layers A8, A9, A10, and A11, respectively. The cartooncontent display apparatus 200 may control the first through fourthlayers A8, A9, A10, and A11 to have movements with reference to depthinformation of the first through fourth layers A8, A9, A10, and A11.That is, the first layer may be provided to the nearest present fourthlayer A11, the movement of the fourth layer A11 may be set inconsideration of the first layer, the fourth layer that is the greatestvalue may be provided to the farthest present first layer A8, and themovement of the first layer A8 may be set in consideration of the fourthlayer. The second layer A9 and the third layer A10 may respectively havethe third layer and the second layer, and the movements of the layersA8, A9, A10, and A11 may be determined according to the fourth throughfirst layers. The movements provided in consideration of the fourththrough first layers may be values considering movements of adjacentlayers. Although directions of movement of each layer are random, an Nthlayer may have a movement smaller than that of an N−1th layer andgreater than that of an N+1th layer.

FIGS. 12 through 15 are diagrams relating to a time difference effect.

FIG.12 shows an example of a screen to which a time difference effect ofthe cartoon content generation apparatus 400 is applied.

When a user applies the time difference effect to a plurality of layersincluded in a cut, the cartoon content generation apparatus 400 maydisplay the screen including a layer display window A12 and aninformation input window A13.

The layer display window A12 may display a plurality of selected layersand select a layer in which information is to be input from theplurality of selected layers. The information input window A13 may inputinitial and final locations of a layer selected by a user.

The user may input initial and final locations of the respective layersthrough the information input window A13.

As shown in FIG. 12, the cartoon content generation apparatus 400 mayreceive initial and final location of a plurality of layers and, asshown in FIG. 15, may allow the plurality of layers to individuallymove.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a cartoon content display method according toexemplary embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 13, the cartoon content display method according toexemplary embodiments may include an operation S410 of displaying adisplay region, an operation S420 of inputting a user event, anoperation S430 of calculating a moving speed and/or a moving distance,an operation S440 of moving layers at the moving speed by the movingdistance, and an operation S450 of displaying the layers.

In operation S410, the cartoon content display apparatus 200 movescartoon content in correspondence with the user event input through thedisplay controller 212 and display a part of the cartoon content.

In operation S420, the input unit 240 receives the user event from auser. The user event is described above, and thus a detailed descriptionthereof is omitted.

In operation S430, the event processor 211 calculates the moving speedand/or the moving distance of the cartoon content in correspondence withthe user event and an effect of a cut and controls to move the cartooncontent at the moving speed by the moving distance. In operation S430,the event processor 211 may calculate distance differences betweeninitial and final locations of a plurality of layers included in the cutand determine moving speeds of the respective layers in relativeconsideration of the distance differences of the plurality of layers.For example, when a first distance difference between initial and finallocations of a first layer is 2 times a second distance differencebetween initial and final locations of a second layer, a moving speed ofthe first layer may be calculated as 2 times a moving speed of thesecond layer.

In operation S440, the display unit 230 moves the plurality of layersincluded in the cut at the respective moving speeds by the respectivemoving distances. In this regard, the layers move in correspondence withthe user event. That is, while the user event is input, the layers maymove, and while the user event is not input, the layers may be stoppedfrom moving and may stay at current locations.

In operation S450, the display controller 212 controls to move anddisplay the layers at the moving speed.

FIGS. 14A through 14C show examples of a screen that displays a cutincluding layers to which a time difference effect is applied.

In this regard, the cut may include a first layer (a background image),a second layer, and a third layer. The first layer (the backgroundimage) that is a fixed layer, and the second layer and the third layerthat include the time difference effect may move between initial andfinal locations.

As shown in FIGS. 14A through 14C, the cartoon content display apparatus200 may move the first layer (the background image), the second layerA17 a, A17 b, A17 c, and the third layer A18 a, A18 b, A18 c that areincluded in the cut between the initial and final locations in order todisplay the time difference effect included in the cut. As shown in FIG.14A, the cartoon content display apparatus 200 may move a location ofthe second layer from A17 a to A17 b via A17 c and simultaneously move alocation of the third layer from A18 a to A18 b via A18 c. In thisregard, a moving distance of the second layer A17 a, A17 b, A17 c may beshorter than that of the third layer A18 a, A18 b, A18 c, and thus thesecond layer A17 a, A17 b, A17 c may move relatively slowly.

FIG.15 shows an example of a user interface 1500 that displays cartooncontent.

As shown in FIG. 15, a display region A19 includes wholly or partiallythe cartoon content and a plurality of cuts. The cartoon contentgeneration apparatus 400 according to the exemplary embodiments maydetermine a moving speed of the cartoon content in proportion to lengthsof the cuts and determine a moving speed in consideration of layerinformation included in the cuts, speed property information, number ofwords included in text, effect information, importance, number of thecuts, size of the screen, a distance difference between a current cutand a previous cut.

A length of a cut A20 is greater than that of a cut A21, and thus amoving speed is generally the same in correspondence with the same userevent. If the cut A20 includes one fixed layer, and the cut A21 includesthree time difference layers, although the length of the cut A20 isgreater than that of the cut A21, when the same user event is input, thedisplay time of the cut A21 is further increased by setting the movingspeed of the cut A21 slower.

In other exemplary embodiments, if the number of words included in textincluded in the cut A20 is 0, and the number of words included in textincluded in the A21 is 50, although the length of the cut A20 is thesame as that of the cut A21, when the same user event is input, thedisplay time of the cut A21 further increased by setting the movingspeed of the cut A22 slower.

FIGS. 16A and 16B show another example of a user interface 1600 thatdisplays cartoon content.

When a cut A15 a including a time difference effect satisfies apredetermined condition, the cut A15 a including an layer A15 b may bedisplayed. In order to prevent the cut A15 a from passing by withoutdisplaying the layer A15 b, the cartoon content display apparatus 200according to the exemplary embodiments may reduce a moving distance or amoving speed that corresponds to a user event in consideration of thecut A15 a having time difference effect when the moving distance or themoving speed is significantly great. That is, as shown in FIG. 16B, thecartoon content may be moved such that the cut A15 a having timedifference effect does not completely disappear.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of a cartoon content display method according toanother exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 17, the cartoon content display method according tothe exemplary embodiments includes an operation S510 of displaying afirst region, an operation S520 of inputting a user event, an operationS530 of determining a direction of a user event, and an operation S540of displaying a cut that is included in a second region preceding thefirst region and includes an additional layer.

In operation S510, the cartoon content display apparatus 200 displaysthe first region that is a part of cartoon content. In operation S520,the cartoon content display apparatus 200 receive a user event through amouse, a keyboard, or a touch screen. In operation S530, the cartooncontent display apparatus 200 determines whether the user event is areverse direction event. When the user event is a scroll input in acounterclockwise direction, a direction key input in an upper direction,or a touch input from a lower end to a higher end, the cartoon contentdisplay apparatus 200 may determine that the user event is a reversedirection event.

When the user event is a reverse direction event, in operation S540, thecartoon content display apparatus 200 controls to display the secondregion by moving the cartoon content forward from the first region by amoving distance corresponding to the user event and displays the cut ofthe second region to include the additional layer. In this regard, theadditional layer is a layer that has not been displayed with respect toa movement and display of the cartoon content corresponding to a userevent in a forward direction.

When the user event is the user event in the forward direction, inoperation S550, the cartoon content display apparatus 200 controls todisplay a third region moved from the first region by a moving distancecorresponding to the user event.

FIGS. 18A and 18B show an example of an additional layer displayed incorrespondence with a user event in a reverse direction.

When the user event in the reverse direction is input, the cartooncontent display apparatus 200 according to the exemplary embodiments maydisplay a cut having a movement or a layer which are unlike those of acut displayed with respect to a user event in a forward direction. Withrespect to the cut, a layer A23 a may be displayed in correspondencewith the user event in the forward direction as shown in FIG. 18A,whereas a new layer A23 b may be further displayed in correspondencewith the user event in the reverse direction as shown in FIG. 18B.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of a cartoon content display method according toan exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 19, the cartoon content display method according tothe exemplary embodiment includes an operation S610 of displaying afinal cut of cartoon content, an operation S620 of browsingadvertisement information related to an object included in the cartooncontent, and an operation S630 of displaying the advertisementinformation.

In operation S610, the display unit 230 displays a final cut of cartooncontent provided at the time. In operation S620, the cartoon contentdisplay apparatus 200 may detect one or more objects included in theprovided one piece of cartoon content and browse an advertisementrelated to the objects. In this regard, the objects include things suchas coffee, Ramen, a TV set, a smart phone, etc. and characters. In thisregard, the advertisement related to the objects may include anadvertisement in which the objects appear, etc. For example, when coffeeappears in the cartoon content, the cartoon content display apparatus200 may browse an advertisement related to coffee after the final cut ofthe cartoon content.

In operation S630, the display controller 212 controls to displayinformation regarding the browsed advertisement following the cartooncontent.

FIGS. 20A and 20B show an example of an additional layer displayed incorrespondence with a user event in a reverse direction.

The cartoon content display apparatus 200 according to the exemplaryembodiments may display a cut A24 a created by a cartoonist incorrespondence with a user event in a forward direction when the userevent in the reverse direction is input, whereas the cartoon contentdisplay apparatus 200 may display the cut A24 a by changing coffee thatis an object included in the cut A24 a in correspondence with the userevent in the reverse direction to an advertisement product requested byan advertiser.

FIG. 21 shows an example of advertisement information that may beadditionally displayed on cartoon content.

The cartoon content display apparatus 200 according to the exemplaryembodiments may additionally provide the advertisement information afterproviding a final cut of the cartoon content. In this regard, theprovided advertisement information may be related to the cartooncontent. In this regard, the advertisement information related to thecartoon content may be an advertisement of a thing (coffee, Ramen, a TVset, a smart phone, etc) included in the cartoon content or anadvertisement in which a character appearing in the cartoon contentappears. Referring to FIG. 21, the cartoon content display apparatus 200may simultaneously provide the cartoon content and an advertisement inwhich characters A25, A26, A27, and A28 appearing in the cartoon contentappear.

As described above, according to the one or more of the above exemplaryembodiments, cartoon content may be generated as intended by a cartooncontent creator.

A cartoon content cut that expresses an effect selected by a cartooncontent creator may also be generated based on the effect and propertyinformation according to a type of the effect.

A layer including various effects corresponding to user events may alsobe controlled to be displayed to include the effects.

The one or more of the above exemplary embodiments may be embodied as acomputer program that can be executed in a computer using variouscomponents. The computer program may be recorded on a computer-readablerecording medium. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium mayinclude a magnetic recording medium (a hard disc, a floppy disc, amagnetic tape, etc.), an optical recording medium (a CD-ROM, a DVD,etc.), a magneto-optical medium (e.g., a floptical disk), and a hardwaredevice (e.g., a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, etc.) specially designed tostore and execute program commands. Furthermore, the computer-readablerecording medium may be a formless medium that can be transmitted anddistributed in a network, e.g., software or an application.

The computer program may be designed and configured specially for theinventive concept or would be obvious to those of ordinary skill in thefield of computer software. Examples of the computer program include notonly machine language codes prepared by a compiler but also high-levellanguage codes executable by a computer using an interpreter.

The use of the terms ‘a’, ‘an’, and ‘the’ and similar referents in thecontext of describing the inventive concept (especially in the contextof the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singularand the plural. Furthermore, recitation of ranges of values herein aremerely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individuallyto each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwiseindicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into thespecification as if it were individually recited herein.

Finally, the operations of all methods described herein can be performedin an appropriate order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwiseclearly contradicted by context. The inventive concept is not limited byan order in which the operations are described herein. The use of anyand all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) providedherein, is intended merely to clearly describe the inventive concept anddoes not pose a limitation on the scope of the inventive concept unlessotherwise claimed. Numerous modifications and adaptations will bereadily apparent to those skilled in this art without departing from thespirit and scope of the inventive concept.

It should be understood that exemplary embodiments described hereinshould be considered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation. Descriptions of features or aspects within each exemplaryembodiment should typically be considered as available for other similarfeatures or aspects in other exemplary embodiments.

While one or more exemplary embodiments have been described withreference to the figures, it will be understood by those of ordinaryskill in the art that various changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventiveconcept as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for generating cartoon content, theapparatus comprising: a cut input controller configured to controlreceiving of a signal for adding a cut included in the cartoon contentand a layer; an effect input controller configured to control receivingof an effect applied to the layer and property information based on thetype of the effect; and a cut generator configured to generate a finalcut such that the layer moves at a moving speed or by a moving distancecorresponding to the effect and a user event received from a user,wherein the cut generator determines a reaction speed of the layer basedon the effect and the property information of the effect, calculates amoving distance or a moving speed corresponding to the reaction speed,and generates the final cut to move the moving distance or at the movingspeed.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cut generator calculatesa first moving speed corresponding to the user event, calculates a finalmoving speed by multiplying a speed set of a first region by the firstmoving speed, and generates the final cut to move at the final movingspeed.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the property information ofthe effect comprises at least one of content of the effect, importance,a number of effects, initial locations of respective effects, finallocations of respective effects, duration time of respective effects,and a number of words included in text.
 4. A method of generatingcartoon content, the method comprising: inputting a signal of adding acut having one or more layers, wherein a cut input controller performsthe receiving; inputting an effect applied to the one or more layers andproperty information based on the type of the effect, wherein an effectinput controller performs the inputting; and generating a final cut suchthat the one or more layers display the effect, wherein a cut generatorperforms the generating, wherein the generating of the final cutincludes determining a reaction speed of the layer based on the effectand the property information of the effect, calculating a movingdistance or a moving speed corresponding to the reaction speed so thatthe final cut moves the moving distance or at the moving speed.
 5. Anapparatus for generating cartoon content, the apparatus comprising: adisplay unit configured to display a first region of the cartooncontent; an input unit configured to receive a user event from a user;an event processor configured to calculate a first speed correspondingto the user event; and a display controller configured to calculate asecond speed corresponding to an effect of a first cut located in atleast a part of the first region, calculate a third speed correspondingto an effect of a second cut located in at least a part of the firstregion, and control moving of the cartoon content at the second speedwhile the first cut is displayed on a predetermined region of a screen,moving of the cartoon content at the third speed while the second cut isdisplayed on the predetermined region, and displaying of the cartooncontent, wherein the second speed and the third speed are different fromeach other.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the second speed andthe third speed are determined according to at least one of a readingspeed of the cartoon content and a reading speed of the user.